There wasn’t much else that could have gone wrong for the Montreal Canadiens on opening night against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre on Tuesday.

They lost to their long-time rivals 4-3 to start the season, but the defeat was overshadowed by a bloody and scary injury to new Canadiens enforcer George Parros, who left the ice on a stretcher after falling during a fight and striking his face on the ice early in the third period.

The Canadiens said Parros suffered a concussion and was taken to hospital for further observation and treatment.

He was alert and conscious, said a team spokesman.

“That’s a good thing,” said Canadiens coach Michel Therrien.

A good thing in what turned out to be a bad night for the Habs and for the National Hockey League on its opening night of the season.

No matter on which side you live on the fighting debate, nobody wants to see a guy in distress the way Parros was Tuesday night.

I’m a guy who likes a good scrap in a hockey game as much as anybody, but fights like this are the reason why there is a debate about fighting and its role in the game.

There wasn’t really any point to the Parros-Orr fight other than that is what those guys do. This wasn’t about defending a teammate or trying to get momentum for a team or a heat-of-the-moment scrap, the usual justifications for fighting.

It came while Montreal rookie defenceman Jarred Tinordi was beating up Toronto’s Carter Ashton.

Maybe it was just the history between the two: Parros had concussed Orr in January of 2011, causing Orr to miss almost an entire year of hockey. They had scrapped once already Tuesday night.

Parros and Orr were swinging around when Parros went over Orr with his arms tangled up and was unable to break his fall to the ice. He ended up striking his chin and it was clear the big man was in difficulty.

Orr disengaged immediately and signalled to the Montreal bench for help.

The Canadiens medical staff came on the ice and at first attempted to have Parros taken off with the assistance of a couple of his teammates, but it was clear Parros was in no condition to get his legs underneath him.

He was loaded onto a stretcher and taken off the ice while the fans chanted his name.

It was clear his chin had taken the brunt of his fall with a gash still bleeding as he left the ice.

“The first thing you think about is his family and you just pray the guy is going to be all right and be able to get back on his feet,” said Canadiens forward Lars Eller, who was the Habs’ best player on the night with two goals. “That’s the only thing that matters in that moment.

“It seems like he was talking. Obviously, everything wasn’t functioning, but he seemed to be somewhat aware and that was an encouraging sign.”

After the Canadiens were beaten and beaten up by the Ottawa Senators in the playoffs this spring, Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin went out and traded for the 33-year-old Parros to boost his club’s physical presence.

Parros gave the fans what they wanted early in the second period when he fought with Orr, scoring a narrow victory.

Canadiens defenceman Josh Gorges said he knows the incident is going to revive the fighting debate, but said it’s not going to change players’ mindset.

They know the risks.

“I think for a lot of people outside hockey, they’re going to start questioning that and have some comments about fighting in hockey, but as a guy who’s played the game for a long time – and I’m sure if you went and asked George tomorrow, he’d be the first to say that just because this happened, you don’t take fighting out of hockey,” said Gorges.

“We all know the risks of getting into a fight, hockey’s a physical game, it’s an intense game, and players are going to get hurt, but players are going to get hurt taking a hit, taking shots, they’re going to get hurt battling in corners, it’s the nature of the business.”

“Guys go down to block a shot and break an ankle. The next time do you think, ‘I better not block this shot?’ No, it’s hockey,” said Gorges. “You can’t second guess yourself.”

Canadiens' Parros leaves game vs. Leafs on stretcher

Injury overshadows marquee NHL season opener

There wasn’t much else that could have gone wrong for the Montreal Canadiens on opening night against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre on Tuesday.

They lost to their long-time rivals 4-3 to start the season, but the defeat was overshadowed by a bloody and scary injury to new Canadiens enforcer George Parros, who left the ice on a stretcher after falling during a fight and striking his face on the ice early in the third period.

The Canadiens said Parros suffered a concussion and was taken to hospital for further observation and treatment.

He was alert and conscious, said a team spokesman.

“That’s a good thing,” said Canadiens coach Michel Therrien.

A good thing in what turned out to be a bad night for the Habs and for the National Hockey League on its opening night of the season.

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There wasn't much left of Daniel Briere's voice. The veteran Montreal Canadiens forward had been turned into a cheerleader, sitting on the Canadiens bench for most of the third period of their Game 7 victory over the Boston Bruins, cooling his heels despite having set up the crucial first goal two minutes into the game.